I forgot to mention at the beginning of May that May is officially, “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month,” as officially proclaimed by our president. The history behind Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is that in 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.
The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important anniversaries: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (May 10, 1869). In 1992, Congress expanded the 10-day observance to a month-long celebration. Per a 1997 Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific islander racial category was separated into two different categories: “Asian” and “native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander.” (reference)
According to the U.S. census (2005), there are over 13.5 Asian/Americans constituting approximately ~5% of the U.S. population. Congressman Mike Honda (D – California) has a list of Bay Area events to commemorate the month.
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